Lobsters live on the bottom of the ocean near shore, and hide in holes or under rocks at depths of about 6 to 120 feet. Lobsters sit in their burrow by day and come out at night to search the ocean bottom looking for food.
Lobsters are the most popular crustacean sought by divers. Generally the diver will attempt to capture the lobster either in a hand held net or with a retractable loop of line mounted on a pole or by hand. Use of a hand held net, similar to the common landing net used by fishermen, is facilitated by holding the net with one hand while holding an elongated object in the other hand. The diver will attempt to persuade the lobster to advance from its burrow by moving the elongated object near the lobster. Once the lobster is accessible, and a distance from rocks and other obstructions, the diver will attempt to manipulate the net to place the lobster within the net. With the lobster within the net, the diver must place the opening of the net against a surface to close the opening and prevent escape of the lobster. This is usually an awkward procedure which occasionally allows escape of the lobster. The second method, being the closable hoop on a pole, is difficult to employ due to the many legs of a lobster and the rapid movement of the lobster during persuade. Additionally, both hands are required to retract the hoop to the closed position, eliminating the use of a probing device. Attempting to capture a lobster using ones hands is difficult and ill advised due to possible damage to the lobster. Both the hoop method and the hand catching method are not advised due to the lobsters ability to cast off an appendage that becomes injured or that is seized by a predator. This self-amputation is called autotomy and may result in escape of an injured lobster which then must survive with the disability. Appendages that are lost by the lobster can be regenerated and may develop to near normal size.
For the foregoing reasons there is a need for a closable netting device suitable for hand-held operation underwater. The device must allow the diver to manipulate the device with one hand, thus leaving the other hand free to employ a probing device to coax the lobster into an exposed location and then into the netting device. The device must further allow rapid closure of the nets opening using the one hand holding the netting device.